Cattle-guard.



UNITED STATESvr PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD V. WALLACE, OF MARVELL, ARKANSAS.

CATTLE-GUARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,240, dated March 13, 1900. Application filed October 28, 1899. Serial No. 735,122. (No model.)

T0 a/ZZ whom t may concern:

Beit known that I, RICHARD V. WALLACE, a subject .of the Queen of Great'Britain, residing at Marvelhin the county of Phillips and State of Arkansas, have invented a new and useful Cattle-Guard, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in cattle-guards.

The objects of the present invention are to improve .the construction of railway cattleguards, more especially that'shown and described in Patent No. 627,552, granted to me June 27, 1899, and to prevent'the cross-ties from bunching and the transverse guards from breaking should the track settle.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view ot' a cattle-guard constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view,the section being taken in the plane of one of the rails. Fig. 3 is a central longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View on line 4 4 of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a similar View on line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of one of the sections of the transverse guard. Fig. 7 is a similar view of a portion of one of the troughs or boxes.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the Iigures of the draw- Ings.

l designates a series of transverse boxes or troughs located between the cross-ties 2 of a track and designed to be sunk into the ballast with their upper edges substantially in the same plane as the top of the road-bed, and these troughs or boxes l, which may be constructed of any suitable material, either wood or met-al, have horizontal bottoms and inclined upwardly-diverging sides and are adapted to convey water from the center to the sides of the road-bed to keep the latter dry vand pr'event the rails 3 from settling. The adjacent sides of the troughs or boxes are arranged beneath transverse guards composed of centrai and end sections 4 and 5, the central section being arranged between the rails and the end sections being ,located at the outer sides thereof and extending therefrom to side guards 6 of any desired construction.

The troughs or boxes are provided at points immediately below the rails with supporting cross-pieces 7, interposed between the sides of the said troughs or boxes and arranged at the upper edges thereof to prevent the same from collapsing when a heavy train is passing over the device. The cross-pieces, which are arranged in alinement and which are located above the bottoms of the troughs or boxes, are located directly beneath spacing blocks or pieces'S, and the latter are located beneath the rails and extend across the spaces between the ties. These spacing-blocks are adapted to prevent the cross-ties from bunching should the track sever.

Each transverse guard is substantially V- shaped in cross-section and is composed of a top portion or cap 9 and lower hinged leaves or members 10. The cap or top portion 9, which is supported by an interior rib or bar 11, is secured to the cross-tie by suitable fas; tening devices 9", and the lower leaves or members 10, which are connected by hinges 12 with the cap or top portion, extend below and rest upon the upper edges of the adja# cent sides of the troughs or boxes. By this arrangement the transverse guards are adapt; ed to shed water into the said troughs or boxes, and should the track settle and the cross-ties sink into the ballast between the troughs the hinges will permit the lower leaves 10 to yield and will prevent the transverse guards from breaking. The lower leaves lO are adapted to beV swung upward to afford access to the base of the rails and the cross-ties to. facilitate repairing the track.

v It will be seen that the spacing blocks or pieces, which extend across the intervals between the ties, form a solid structure and prevent the cross-ties from collapsing or bunching should the ballast settle orl give way. It will also be apparent that the hinged leaves or lower portions of the transverse guards overlap the sides of the troughs and extend into the same to shed water effectually and that the hinges permit the lower leaves or portions to swing upward and yield to any sinking or settling of the cross-ties, whereby the trans- `verse guards are prevented from breaking.

IOC

the cross-ties, and the transverse guards com- 15 posed of upper portions or caps secured to the cross-ties, and the lower hinged leaves or members overlapping the sides of and extended into the troughs, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I ela-im the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses. n

RICHARD V. WALLACE.

VvTitnesses:

J. A. VAN BROCKLINE, J. G; MURPHEY. 

